Play Ball!
by Shadpup
Summary: Two shot. Before the team officially starts their week of annual leave, Emily takes her neighbor's grand kids to the park for the afternoon. Derek manages to get himself invited to the outing. Will the trip be uneventful?
1. Chapter 1

_I know. I know. Me actually posting a one shot story. Shocking isn't it? These scenes have been sitting in my extra file for ages because I haven't found the right story to put them in. Then it struck me while out cleaning off the driveway that it might make a good one shot. So to celebrate the start of spring training for baseball, here it is. Enjoy. P.S. There is no pairing of characters in this. Just a story of friendship._

* * *

The jet glided through the ink black sky, winging its way home to Washington. On board all was quiet, everyone was asleep except for one. Emily sat in the seat closest to the cockpit so that the reading light wouldn't disturb the rest of the team. Her book laid face down on her lap while she gazed the window into the darkness beyond.

Whenever the team was returning from a case late at night, Emily made sure she stayed awake for the entire flight. She was still having the occasional nightmare. She had thought she had finally gotten past them, but the events with Declan had brought them back. Even so, they still had a tendency to pick the most inopportune time to resurface. She didn't want to have any in front of the team. She knew that the team knew she was still plagued by them and it would be embarrassing but she could deal with that. What she couldn't handle would be the pitying looks afterward, like she still couldn't cope with her trauma. And sometimes Emily did wonder if she was. Maybe she should take up the offer Dave had made several weeks about unofficially seeing a therapist he knew.

On one end of the couch Derek watched her through half lidded eyes. He knew what she was doing. The whole team knew she was still suffering from reoccurring nightmares. Unbeknownst to her, they had all witnessed a few minor ones since Emily had rejoined the team. As a group they agreed to keep that little fact to themselves. They knew if they mentioned the occurrences to her, Emily would mentally retreat and deny it. He stretched and sat up, his back cracking. His movement immediately captured her attention. With a groan he got up to join her, her wary eyes following him the whole way.

"So what's keeping you up tonight?" he asked casually as he flopped into the seat across from her and set his headphones and ipod on the table. He wondered if she would tell him the truth.

"Nothing," Emily lied smoothly. Derek mentally sighed. "I'm just not tired at the moment."

Derek nodded at her answer like he believed it. He briefly considered challenging her on it but he also knew how it would end. It would end with a thoroughly pissed off and uncommunicative Emily Prentiss. Instead he asked, "Any big plans for your week off?"

The entire team was scheduled for their annual leave to start on Monday. He knew what everyone was doing expect for her. Hotch and Jack was going camping. JJ, Will and Henry were planning on visiting his family in New Orleans. Reid was heading to Vegas to spend some quality time with his mother. Dave was scheduled for a mini book tour for his latest one. Penelope was going back to San Francisco and he was heading to Chicago.

"Actually I do," she said with a light laugh. "Tomorrow I'm going to take my neighbor's three grandsons to the park for the afternoon. Get them out of her hair for a couple of hours."

Derek thought for a moment. Three brothers? His mental light bulb flickered. "Are you referring to those boys I met while I was replacing your broken window? Harold and Rhett?

Emily rolled her eyes. "Jared and Seth. You met Ben on another day."

"Right." He snapped his fingers. "The older one…"

"Jared," she supplied.

"Jared. He broke the window and was offering to work it off by doing chores for you. The other one, Rhett…"

Emily knew he was teasing her and played along. "Seth."

"Seth," he continued. "He was and I quote 'only here to play with Sergio'. He was very emphatic about it. And Len…"

"Ben."

"Ben just stared at me the whole time like I had two heads and barely said more than five words to me."

Emily laughed. "I'm impressed, Morgan. You actually vaguely remembered them."

He also laughed. "I did. What are you going to do with them at the park?"

She shrugged. "Probably play some catch and then go to the playground."

"You know how to play catch?" he teased.

She frowned at him. "Of course I do," she said somewhat testily_. _

He held up his hands. "Just teasing, Prentiss. It sounds like fun. Do you mind if I tag along? I don't leave for Chicago until Sunday."

Emily arched a dubious eyebrow. "You sure, Morgan? Those three can be quite a handful when they get wound up."

"Positive. How hard can it be? They are what? Twelve, ten and seven?" he asked.

"Eight, six and four." she corrected.

"Whatever," he said dismissively. "So what do you say? Can I come over and play, Miss Prentiss?" he wheedled.

Emily pretended to give it some serious thought. "Okay. Just don't come whining to me that they are bothering you."

Derek grinned. "Deal."

* * *

The following afternoon found Derek sitting on the hood of his pick up truck waiting for Emily and entourage to arrive. He took a quick peek at his watch. She said to meet them at the park not far from her house at noon. It was quarter after. As if on cue, Emily's car pulled into the parking space two-spots down from his. He watched her turn in her seat to look in the back and say something. Probably cautioning the brothers to be on their best behavior. He chuckled. We'll see how long that lasts.

Emily was the first out of the car. She was dressed casually for a day in the park in jeans, tennis shoes, a white tee shirt with red sleeves and shoulders, and a solid red ball cap. She had her black hair pulled up in a ponytail and tucked through the back of the hat. Emerging from the passenger side was a tall, lean red headed teenager wearing a Washington Nationals shirt. It took Derek a moment to recognize Russ. He was the young man Emily has been mentoring and he and his friend Jimmy had been a big help in remodeling Emily's row house. As Russ went to the trunk, two boys and Jericho spilled out of the backseat.

"Sorry, Derek, that we are a little late," Emily apologized when he met up with them. We had a slight change in plans. Ben came down with an ear ache and couldn't come."

"Poor kid. Hope he feels better," he said sincerely. "No problem on the wait. I haven't been here long."

"Good." She pulled the two brothers in front of her. "Guys, you remember Mr. Derek don't you?"

When they both nodded, she continued. "This is Jared," she said, placing her hand on the taller of the two and tousling his light brown hair.

"Mr. Russ is going to show us how to play baseball," he said eagerly, grinning up at the dark agent, his two front teeth missing.

"Cool. I like playing baseball," he said, also grinning.

Emily laid her other hand on the younger boy's head and did the same thing. "And this is…"

"I'm only here for the ice cream," he informed everyone very seriously.

Emily laughed and finished her sentence. "… Seth who only came along for the ice cream."

"Nothing wrong with that," Derek said with a straight face, earning a small smile from the boy.

Russ, with an equipment bag slung over one shoulder, joined the group and held out his hand. "Hey, Derek, how's it hanging? Ace said you were going to join us."

"Things are hanging good," he said, shaking hands with the young man and then cocking an eyebrow at Emily. "Ace?" She winced slightly and looked away.

"It's a nickname I gave her because of the way she can…"

"Okay, guys, what do you want to do first?" she asked loudly, cutting Russ off in mid sentence.

Jared started bouncing up and down in eager anticipation. "Baseball, baseball, baseball," he chanted.

"Seth?" Emily asked the younger boy, knowing he did not share his brother's affinity for the sport.

He thought for a moment then shrugged. "Okay."

"Cool!" Jared exclaimed and dashed off to the ball field with Jericho on his heels. The rest followed at a more sedate pace.

Watching her dog take off after Jared, Emily thought it was funny that while Mutt was tolerate of her friends and co-workers he simply adored kids up to a point like, for example, when Henry called him a pony and tried to ride him. Mutt had sat down so that the young boy would slide off then he went out the dog door and hid out in his doghouse for the remainder of the visit. Sergio, sensing that he was about to show up on Henry's radar, pulled off an admirable vanishing act of his own. She guessed since children were shorter than adults Mutt found them less threatening.

Jared had it all planned out by the time they had caught up to him and Jericho. "We can split into two teams. Me, Seth, and Miss Emily can be on one. Mr. Russ and Mr. Derek on the other. Jerry can be on both because he doesn't have any hands so he can't bat."

Derek glanced at the dog, sporting a blue bandana with baseballs on it, seemed unimpressed with his nickname. The poor dog was going to get confused with all these names. Everyone called him Jericho. Emily was the only one to call him Mutt.

"Good idea, Jared," Emily said, "But why don't we toss a ball around a bit to loosen up?"

"Okay," he agreed. Then a thought occurred to him and he turned to Morgan. "Mr. Derek. Can you hit a few first?"

"Sure," he answered. He went over to the bag Russ had brought and sorted through the bats until he found the one that felt comfortable in his hands.

"Hey, Emily. Would you do me the pleasure of tossing a few to me?" he asked, digging through the bag for a baseball.

"I'll give it a try," Emily said, slipping on a glove.

Derek pulled a ball out and frowned at it when it felt odd. "Emily, why does this baseball have small holes in it?" he asked, turning the ball over in his hand looking at the pockmarks.

Emily grinned. "Because our outfielder has big, pointy teeth." Jericho barked at him from his position in center field.

He made a face. "That makes sense," he observed and tossed it underhanded to Emily who caught it neatly and then trotted out to the pitcher's mound.

"You might want to stand half way if you want to get the ball over the plate," he called out after her.

"I thought I would give it a shot first," she shouted back over her shoulder.

"This should be fun," he said to himself as he dug in at the batter's box and took a few practice swings to loosen up. Russ, decked out in a catcher's mask, settled behind the plate.

Derek watched in bemusement as Emily toed the rubber, went into her windup and sent the baseball…whizzing past his right ear. Letting out a squeak of surprise, he dove to the dirt, the sound of the ball smacking into Russ's mitt echoing his ears.

"What the hell?" he swore, rising to his feet.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" came Seth's voice from the dugout. "Mr. Derek said a bad word. That's a dollar in the curse jar."

"What?" Emily asked, holding up her arms in question, a look of innocence on her face. "You were crowding the plate."

Russ snickered. Derek turned to glared at him. "You think that was funny?"

"No, Sir," he answered, glad the mask hide his broad grin. He threw the ball back to Emily who caught it effortlessly. "Ball one."

Emily circled the mound, stepped up to the rubber, licked her fingers and leaned forward. Derek glanced down to see Russ flashing signs at her. Emily nodded and straightened.

"Bring it on," he muttered, tightening and loosening his grip on the bat.

Emily let the ball fly.

Derek grinned. She just left the ball over the plate. He stepped forward and brought the bat around, eagerly anticipating the sound of ball on wood. Just when the bat was about to connect the baseball suddenly dropped and he swung harmlessly over it. The momentum spun him around.

"Strike one!" Russ called out.

"Strike one!" echoed the boys in the dugout.

Emily winked at him as she caught the ball from Russ. She returned to the rubber and assumed her stance. Derek shook his head and resettled in the batter's box. He kept his eyes glued to her pitching hand.

She went through her windup and let the ball go. Derek watched it leave her hand and hurtled towards him. It looked like a standard curveball arching to the outside then curving in. This he could hit, he loved curveballs. Then the ball started to wobble, it went up and down and then drifted left to right and back again. Derek had no idea how fast it was going and found himself still swinging as the ball slammed into the catcher's glove with a resounding thud.

"Strike two!" Russ and the boys said in unison.

Derek glared into the dugout and the two boys waved madly back. Out in center field Mutt let out a huge sigh and plopped onto his stomach, resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to be chasing any balls in the near future. Derek turned back to the mound and mouthed the word change up. Emily sent him a wicked grin and nodded. She then licked her fingers and got ready for her next pitch.

"This is war," he grumbled as he adjusted his cap and resumed his stance.

So far he had seen a slider and a change up and he wondered what other pitches she had left in her arsenal. He soon found out. Emily blew it past him with a fastball above the knees, freezing him at the plate.

"Strike three! You're out!" came the chorus. Mutt rolled over and played dead.

With a rueful smile he met Emily halfway. "You got me, show off."

"Yup."

He held out the bat. "Okay, so you can pitch but can you hit?"

Emily exchanged the glove for the bat. "Guess we'll have to see won't we?" she said innocently.

Chuckling Derek made his way to the mound. He loosened some of the dirt in front of the rubber and when he turned to face the plate he had to blink in surprise. Emily had settled into the left-handed batter's box. His eyebrows shot up. She's a switch hitter?

As he watched her exchange a few words with Russ, Derek mentally reviewed his own selection of pitches. He eventually settled on his own version of a slider. He went through his windup and sent the ball careening toward home plate. Emily watched the ball, took a step and swung.

CRACK!

Who knew Emily was a low-ball hitter? He turned to watch, first the ball and then the dog, disappear over the home run fence. Russ joined him on the mound and together they watched Emily trot around the bases. When she reached home plate, she jumped on it and then traded high fives with Jared and Seth.

Derek looked over at the young man who now had the catcher's mask resting on top of his head. "Did you teach Emily how to play baseball?"

Russ grinned. "Nope. Ace, taught me. You should see her field a line drive."

* * *

"You've been holding out on me, Ace," he accused her later.

They were sitting on top of a picnic table watching Jared and Seth scampering over the playground equipment like two hyped up monkeys. After playing baseball for a while, Emily had treated everyone to ice cream, chocolate for her and the brothers and vanilla for Derek and Mutt. Russ had mint and was now reclining against a tree texting away on his phone. Mutt was contently snoring away in the shade under the table.

"How so?" Emily asked, finishing the last of her sugar cone.

"Back in Texas you said you didn't know anything about sports," he pointed out.

"Au contraire," she said, waggling a finger at him. "I said I didn't know anything about football. You never mentioned baseball."

Derek chuckled. "You got me there." He shifted around until he was sitting sideways on the table so that he could see her better. "Okay, Miss Smarty Pants, how do you know so much about baseball?"

Emily glanced at him and then let her gaze wander back over the playground. She began to twist the paper napkin she held in her hands. Even though she has know Derek for almost seven years and considered him her partner and one of her closest friends, she still had trouble talking about herself. Derek had been right all those months ago, before the Doyle fiasco blew up in her face, that she had trust issues.

She took a deep breath and began. "As you know my parents weren't around much when I was growing up. Both paid more attention to their individual careers than to me. Anyhow when my Father was present he shared with me his love of baseball. I fell in love with it for two reasons: one, because it was his passion and it could be something that was all our own and nobody else's. Two because if I liked it as much as he did maybe I would be more worthy of his love."

Derek remained quiet while she paused to collect herself. He knew she would appreciate it that he wasn't interrupting with unwanted questions. Instead, he let her tell it in her own fashion. Unconsciously her fingers started to shred the napkin.

"We use to go out on embassy's grounds where he taught me how to field and hit. And the times we were stateside or in some country where baseball was popular, Father would take me the ballpark to see a game or two. It was fun, just the two of us. That was the only time I liked being an ambassador's kid. We always had great seats and were able to go to the locker rooms and meet the players." Emily smiled at the memories.

"Wow!" Derek said, impressed.

Emily glanced at him. "It was great. They were all very nice and gave me tips on how to improve my play."

"What did your mother think of it?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He had a feeling that the Ambassador had not approved.

Emily let out a rueful laugh. "She hated it. She thought it was a crude and vulgar game, that it was an unsuitable sport for a girl to play, especially me. Nothing irked her more when I came in from a lesson with Father with a dirty face and wearing grass stained clothes. Her disapproval only made me fall in love with it even more." She fell silent, eyes back on the brothers.

"Do you and your father still go and see any games?" he asked softly after a few minutes.

She shook her head slowly. "Not for a long time. We…we drifted further apart when I was in high school. By then my parents had technically gone their separate ways."

Derek interpreted 'technically' to mean that Emily's parents had never officially divorced. They lived their own lives but came together for public events to maintain the image of a happily married couple. Over the years since Emily had joined the team, he had seen pictures of her parents in the society pages.

"Do you keep going?"

Again she shook her head. "No. It's no fun going alone. You don't have anyone to rehash the plays with."

"But then you met Russ," Derek observed, following her line of thought.

This time she turned to fully face him, the paper napkin in pieces at her feet. "And then I met Russ," she repeated with a smile. "Here was this boy with a glove that was almost falling apart who so desperately wanted to play baseball but had no one to teach him."

"But you did."

Emily shrugged her shoulders as if it was nothing. "I had all this skill and knowledge and it seemed silly not to share it."

Derek liked how her eyes lit up when she talked about the boy, no, young man. He hoped she was proud of what she had accomplished with him.

"Don't get me wrong about his aunt," she quickly said. "She cared for him in her own strange way but she didn't believe in spending money on anything beyond the basics she was required to provide to him. She didn't mind that I offered to pay for Little League every summer or when I asked to take him to the ballpark whenever I could because the money didn't come out of her pocket."

Derek smiled. "Emily, you raised a smart, sensible and talented young man," he said in admiration, his chest swelling in pride for his friend.

Emily frowned at his words. "I did no such thing."

His face grew serious. "Don't sell yourself short, Emily. You had a big influence on how he turned out. You should be proud of yourself."

She looked at him in surprise. He was giving her way too much credit. She was simply Russ' friend, not a mentor, a big sister and definitely not a parent. She was too screwed up to be a good one.

"Emily, think of what you'll be able to achieve with the Dynamic Duo and their brother." He gestured to Jared and Seth who were having a friendly tussle at the top of the slide over who gets to go down first. "And don't forget Declan."

At the mention of the blonde boy's name, Emily's face became shuttered and she stared at the ground. Derek realized he had overstepped his boundaries when the words left his mouth. Not long ago Declan and Emily had come face to face for the first time in six years and it hadn't gone well.

"He still won't talk to you?"

Emily bit her lip. "No," she said quietly. "I called to see if he might want to come along today but he refused to come to the phone."

"I'm so sorry, Emily," he said, laying a comforting hand on her knee. He still felt bad for pushing her to have more contact with Declan when she clearly didn't want to. She had been afraid that this would happen. "It's just going to take some more time. He'll come around."

"It's for the best," she said, pretending that his refusal to see her didn't hurt even though that very hurt showed clearly in her eyes. She glanced at her watch. "I should get the boys back to their grandmother," she said, changing the subject.

"I guess so," he agreed, sad to see this relaxing afternoon end. It had been fun even when she bruised his male ego by striking him out on three straight pitches.

Emily peered under the picnic table at the dozing dog. "Mutt! Heir!" she called out firmly.

Mutt shot to his feet and came to stand before her, his tail wagging, still looking dapper in his blue bandana. He gazed intently at her.

She pointed to the boys. "Hol sie her!" she commanded.

As Mutt dashed off to retrieve the brothers, Derek grinned mischievously at her. "I love it when you talk German."

Emily laughed as she watched her dog start to nudge the boys in her direction.

"Can you handle a softball?" he asked, an idea forming in his head.

She turned back to him with a slight frown. "Yes, softball has the same principles as baseball except for how the ball is pitched. Why?"

"With you and that arm of yours on the Bureau's softball team, we would so trounce the Secret Service team."

"You think?" she asked, eyes sparkling with the challenge.

"I know so," he said with a grin, knowing he had her.

"Then sign me up. They're nothing but a bunch of blowhards."

Derek chuckled, loving how she never backed down from a challenge. Already he was looking forward to playing with her and wiping the smirks off their faces.

* * *

After the busy and fun Saturday at the park with Derek, Russ and the boys, Emily felt it was her right to have a lazy Sunday. She could sleep in, maybe go for a slow run around the neighborhood and then snuggle up with a good book or two for the rest of the day. And if she were really lucky the MacGruder boys would come over and borrow Mutt for several hours, allowing her to spend some quality with Sergio.

The sleeping in lasted until ten thirty when the before mentioned Sergio decided that he had waited patiently for his breakfast long enough and sat on her face. "Alright, alright. I get the hint. You're hungry," she said around a mouthful of black fur.

She pushed the cat to one side, rolled out of bed, and promptly tripped over the dog. As she donned a robe she longed for the days when her bedroom was obstacle free. Now there was always an animal or a chew bone under foot. Emily had no idea why Mutt always insisted on bringing one to bed each night but he never took it back downstairs the next morning. Sighing she picked up the bone, tucked it into her pocket with the plan to drop it in his toy box.

Sergio and Mutt raced each other to the kitchen. The cat always won by taking his favorite shortcut, squeezing between the balusters halfway down the stairs and leaping nimbly down. Emily took her time. Mutt sat attention and Sergio weaved between her feet as she filled both bowls with dry kibble and put fresh water in the shared water bowl. Mutt gulped his down within a minute while Sergio sat and contently munched on his.

"Nein!" Emily said loudly when she saw the dog trying to steal some of Sergio's food. "Lass das."

Mutt gave the bowl one more wistful look before backing away. Emily decided to distract him from the food. "Los, bring mir die Zeitung."

His ears perked up and let out a sharp bark before dashing down to the basement and out the dog door that Derek had installed so that he could have access to the front garden. A minute later she could hear his toenails clicking up the hardwood stairs. He appeared at her side holding the plastic bag containing the newspaper in his mouth. Of course he tried to play tug of war with her but Emily gave him a stern look and commanded, "Lass los !"

He immediately dropped his end and she rewarded him with a vigorous ear rub. "Braver Hund." Mutt's tail pounded the floor.

Settling at the breakfast bar Emily spread the newspaper out. Before she started reading, she thought back to yesterday and smiled. It had turned out to be a fun afternoon for all. On the drive back, the boys had kept asking her when Mr. Derek could join them in another game because they thought he was so cool. And he was. Derek was great with them. _Not a bad way to start vacation_, she thought and took a sip of her orange juice. Then Emily spent the rest of the morning perusing the Sunday paper and enjoying a leisurely meal.

* * *

_And now you know why Russ calls Emily 'Ace' and how she knows so much about baseball. Hoped you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. Otherwise see you all on Weds. Until then._


	2. Chapter 2

_Yes, yes I know I said it was a one shot, but a reviewer mentioned wanting to see the game so I said what the heck, I'll give it a shot and here it is. Enjoy._

* * *

"Are you sure they won't mind?" Emily asked for the second time as she and Derek drove to the sports park.

"Positive," he repeated, briefly looking away from the road to grin at her.

"But I'm joining the team in mid season," she protested as she unconsciously kneaded the black and gray softball glove with orange laces in her lap.

"We're one man down. Miller threw out his back and is finished for the year. If we don't get a replacement we'll have to forfeit the rest of our games," he explained.

"Can't let that happen," she concurred with a nod.

After she had told him to sign her up, Emily had run to Geiger's sporting goods store to pick up a softball glove and bat. Her regular glove wouldn't work since it had been broken in to catch a baseball. On her next day off she went to the local batting cage to get used to hitting a softball. Baseballs and fast pitch softballs came at you swiftly and hard while a slow pitch ball had a nice arch to it. Emily whiffed many a ball before she finally got the timing down and was hitting them out of the park. She even played catch with Russ to get the feeling of throwing a softball. She knew she had it down when the teenager had stood there shaking his stinging hand and grumbling that the next time he was going to use a catcher's mitt because it had a heck of a lot more padding.

"Nope. Otherwise we'll never hear the end of it from the Secret Service guys."

"Is that who we are playing today?" she asked as they pulled into a parking space.

"Yup." Derek reached into the backseat, retrieved the extra ball cap and shoved it on her head, pulling the bill down over her eyes. "You look great," he said with a grin.

"Rigghhtt," she drawled, taking the hat off and resettling it on her head with her ponytail tucked through the opening in the back. "Now lets go kick some Secret Service butt."

* * *

As they made their way over to the field, Emily used that time to observe the team that was gathered around first base. Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed Derek's arm, yanking him to a halt.

"I thought you said this was a co-ed team," she asked in a low voice.

"It is," he answered with a puzzled frown.

"Then where are the rest of the women? All I see are men."

Derek ran a sheepish hand over his chin. "Well…we couldn't find any who wanted to play," he confessed.

Emily crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "So I'm the token girl?"

"Yeah. So it would seem."

"Wonderful," she grumbled, resisting the urge to bean him with the softball bat. It was just how she wanted to spend the afternoon surrounded by over inflated egos and testosterone. Wait…she did that every day at work.

"It will be fine, Partner. You'll see." He took her gently by the arm. "C'mon. I'll introduce you to the guys. They're a great bunch."

Derek steered her over to the group of men. "Guys," he said with a big grin. "This here is Emily Prentiss and she's taking Miller's place." He then proceeded to introduce the rest of the softball team.

One of the agents by the name of McHale looked Emily over from top to bottom, taking special notice of the brand new glove and bat. Another rookie, he mentally sighed.

"Does she know how to play?" he asked, directing the question to Derek.

Emily bristled at the snub. "I'm right here," she said in an irked voice, "and yes. I know how to play."

He looked her over again and nodded. "You can play catcher and Jamison can move to center field.

Derek didn't like that one bit. Being behind the plate was a waste of Emily's talent. Normally the less experience players played catcher and right field. But she was far from inexperienced. He had no doubt that she could run circles around most of the guys here. She was that good in his humble opinion.

"I think Prentiss should play center field," he stated firmly.

"Why?"

He glanced sideways at his best friend and partner. "You're just going to have to trust me on this, guys. You won't be disappointed."

McHale stared at him then shrugged. "Fine," he conceded. "Prentiss you'll be in center field and Jamison catcher." Jamison actually looked relieved to staying put. He really didn't like the outfield, too much running.

"Works for me," Emily agreed, deciding not to rip McHale a new one…yet. She would have to see as the game progressed. If he continued to be obnoxious then she might 'accidentally' once throw the ball a little too low and a little too hard.

"Yup. It definitely works for me," she said quietly with a wicked grin as she headed for the dugout.

Derek correctly sensing the true meaning of her words discretely checked and adjusted his athletic cup.

* * *

The winner of the coin toss was the Secret Service and they opted to be the home team so the Bureau would bat first. And it was a quick at bat for them, three batters up and three batters down. Emily slotted in to the fifth batting position would have to wait for second inning to a take a swing at the ball. As she slipped on her glove and trotted out to center field, she tried to calm the butterflies flirting about in her stomach. She hadn't felt this nervous since the day she walked into Hotch's office for the very first time. All she wanted to do was to play as best as she could and not let Derek down.

The first batter up was aggressive and went after the first ball, sending the ball over the shortstop Derek's head for a single. The second batter swung at the first two pitches before sending a high fly to center field. Emily started forward then realized she had misjudged the angle of the ball. As she ran back and to her left, she chastised herself for not taking any fielding practice to get the feel of the softball coming off the bat.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," she muttered.

The ball dropped and Emily knew she wasn't going to catch up to it so she did the only thing she could think of. She dove for it and prayed she would make it. Her glove wrapped around the ball seconds before her body slammed into the turf in a full stretch. Then in one fluid motion Emily leapt to her feet, pivoted and sent the ball screaming to first base.

"Fuck!" McHale and the base runner swore at the same time.

McHale cursed because his catching hand was now numb and the base runner because he had strayed too far from first base and had gotten thrown out. He had thought for sure that she wouldn't get under the ball in time so he had kept running. By the time he realized his mistake he couldn't get safely back to the base. The next batter struck out, ending the inning.

"That was a sweet play, Partner," Derek said in admiration as they headed off the field.

"Thanks," Emily replied, brushing at the grass stain on her shirtfront. "I didn't think I was going to make it back in time."

Inside the dugout her new teammates congratulated her on her awesome catch. Even McHale nodded his appreciation as he continued to massage his left hand. The feeling was slowly returning to the limb. Emily took all the compliments graciously, exchanging high fives and fist bumps with several of them. Then she grabbed her bat and started to take a couple of practice swings since she was batting second.

In between swings Derek sidled up to her and whispered, "Hit it out of the park, Prentiss."

Emily turned to him and scolded him lightly. "It's not polite to hit a homerun the first time you are up to bat. Makes it look like you are showing off."

His eyebrows went up. "You did it to me at the park."

"Yes I did because it was you," she pointed out. "Your ego could take it. These guys might not."

Derek chuckled. "Then get on base so I can drive you in." He was batting immediately after her.

"I can do that," she agreed with a smile as the batter in front of her fouled out to the first baseman.

Emily took a deep breath and headed for the plate. At the last minute she decided to bat left handed and settled into the appropriate box. Before she even had a chance to get the bat off her shoulder, the pitcher turned to the outfield.

"Leftie!" he shouted and she watched everyone shift toward the right side of the field.

She shrugged, dug in and locked her eyes on the pitcher's hand. Emily took the first two pitches, one for a ball and one for a strike, to see how the pitcher threw the softball. Feeling comfortable she watched the ball leave his hand, tightened her grip on the bat and swung at the very last minute. The softball went streaking down the third base line. Emily made it into second standing up to the cheers of her teammates and the frown of the pitcher. Derek grinned at her as he stepped into the batter's box.

Emily clapped and shouted, "Bring me home, Morgan!"

He nodded and got ready for the first pitch. Emily started to take a lead off, but luckily remembered before she had both feet off the base that in softball you had to stay in contact with the base until the ball was hit. Derek swung at the fourth pitch. As soon as she realized the ball was going to drop in front of the right fielder, Emily took off like her pants were on fire. She easily rounded third and raced for home. Behind her, she could hear members of the other team shouting for the ball to be thrown home. Emily easily scored the first run of the game. When she entered the dugout she was again greeted with high fives and fist bumps.

Emily's second at bat was almost an exact repeat of her first time. Someone yelled leftie and they all shifted to the right. Again she swung late and sent the ball flying down the third base line. The throw to second was tighter than the first time, forcing Emily to slide in safely. All business, she popped to her feet and dusted off her pants. Derek and the next batter both walked, loading the bases. Two batters later, an agent by the name of Aviles dropped the ball behind the left fielder, driving in Emily and Derek.

On her third and final time up, the other team wised up and didn't shift since she had burned them the first two times and they weren't going to let that happen again. That strategy didn't bother Emily one bit. She jumped on the first pitch, swinging early and sent the ball to the fence in right field allowing her to cruise into third with a triple. A ball hit beneath the glove of the shortstop had her trotting home, scoring her third run of the game.

* * *

By the bottom of the sixth inning the Bureau was leading 8 to 6, but the Secret Service was threatening to tie or take the lead. They had runners on first and second, two outs and their best hitter was at the plate. With a mighty swing he sent the ball in Emily's direction. She locked eyes on it and immediately began to back up at a run. So focused on the softball she was unaware of how close she was getting to the low chain link fence that counted as the home run fence.

The ball hit her glove at the same time her back hit the top of the fence. Her momentum flipped her over it. Everyone on the field and in the dugout held their collective breaths waiting for the call. Emily's gloved hand shot into the air, the softball securely nestled in it. Her team cheered while the other groaned in dismay. Acting like her home run stealing catch was nothing, Emily nimbly hopped back over the fence and headed for the dugout.

The Bureau tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh inning and ended up winning the game 11 to 6. It was their first victory over the Secret Service in four years.

* * *

Still on their all time high, the team adjourned to the nearest bar to continue celebrating their victory over their dreaded enemy. They unanimously voted Emily the most valuable player and that meant all the drinks were on her. She took it stride and opened a tab. Her teammates all assured her that they wouldn't run it up to an obscene amount. It would be just high enough that a week's salary would easily cover it.

Emily was perched on a barstool at the end of the bar watching the celebration when McHale sidled up to her. "You got a hell of an arm there, Prentiss," he said in grudging admiration.

"Thanks," she said and took a sip of her beer.

He looked down at his fingers and flexed them. "They're still tingling."

"Sorry about that." No she wasn't.

"So have you always played softball because you're good at it?"

"No actually," Emily answered as she set her bottle down and grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl next to her elbow. She popped a few into her mouth. "I played a little baseball when I was a kid."

"Ah," he said in surprise, polishing off his beer and signaling the bartender for another. "Grew up in a neighborhood full of boys?"

"You can say that," she answered vaguely, having no intention of discussing her childhood with a complete stranger.

He nodded and scooped up his fresh beer. "Anyway you played a hell of a game. Welcome to the team, Prentiss."

"Thank you," she responded as he clinked bottles with her.

"See you next week." McHale looked around the bar with bleary eyes. "Jamison," he called out. "We need to talk."

Emily watched him walk away on not too steady feet and made a mental note to make sure to pour him into a cab if she was still here when he decided to leave.

"What are you thinking?" Derek asked, sliding on to the barstool that McHale had just vacated.

She turned to him with a grin. "That McHale is drunk off his ass already."

Derek chuckled. "Doesn't take him long. He wants to make the most out of it since we haven't had much to celebrate this season."

"Glad I could make him deliriously drunk for a change," she laughed.

The two sat in companionable silence sipping their beers as they watched the rest of the softball team celebrate. "Did you have fun today?" he eventually asked.

"I did. I had a ball," she answered, grinning at her own pun. "Thanks for asking me to play."

"No problem, Partner. You going to stick around for the rest of the season?"

"Oh absolutely. I can't leave you guys down a player and I haven't hit a home run yet. I want to hear McHale's jaw hit the ground when I do."

He shook his head in amusement and raised his beer bottle. "To home runs," he toasted.

"To home runs," she repeated.

Derek and Emily clinked their bottles together, down their contents, slammed the empties on the bar and shouted in unison, "Barkeep! Two more."

* * *

"…And it looked like she wasn't going to make it. Then she dove for it, getting her glove between the ground and the ball. It was a sweet catch," Derek said with an appreciative whistle.

"What was sweet?" Emily asked, dropping her briefcase on her desk.

Before she had entered, Derek was sitting on the edge of Reid's desk regaling him and JJ about the weekend softball game.

"The catch you made," Reid said.

"Which one?" she asked in curiosity. "The home run stealing catch or the one I badly misjudged and barely caught?"

"The second one," he said. "Did it hurt?"

Emily arched an eyebrow as she pulled out her chair. "Did it hurt when I intentionally threw my body on the ground?" Reid nodded. "Yes, it did."

"Oh! I forgot to mention she immediately bounced to her feet and threw out the runner who was trying to get back to first," Derek added.

"So that's why you have a glove in your closet," JJ exclaimed, remembering back to when the brunette had broken her ankle and had come across her digging through closet looking for the glove. "You played softball as a kid."

"Yeah," Emily agreed to agree and shot Derek a look telling him that she didn't want him to mention her prowess in baseball. She wanted to keep it private and just between the two of them.

Derek nodded that he understood. "The team named her the most valuable player of the game."

Reid's eyes brightened and leaned forward eagerly. "Did you get some kind of trophy? I always wanted to win an athletic trophy," he added wistfully.

"What I got was a huge bar bill," Emily said as she took off her blazer and dropped it over the back of the chair.

"Huh?"

Derek chuckled at the confused look on the young genius' face. "The MVP foots the bill for the after the game drinks."

"Oh," he said in disappointment. "That doesn't sound like a much of a fun award."

"I didn't mind."

Emily started to sit down, but froze when Derek wagged a finger at her. "Uh uh uh. No sitting. I've got something to show you in my office."

She exchanged looks with JJ and Reid who were working hard to suppress their chuckles. "Okaay," she drawled uncertainly and straightened. "Lead away."

The two friends adjourned to his office and settled in the chairs around the desks. "So what do you want to show me?" she asked, breaking the ice.

"This!" he said with a grin and whipped out a tee shirt. It was navy blue with light gray sleeves and had 'FBI' across the front in the same gray. "It's your official team shirt."

"Cool," Emily breathed, feeling honored that she was now an official member of the team.

Just as she went to take it, Derek jerked it back out of her of her reach. "Not so fast, Miss Greedy Fingers. I've got more to show you."

"You're going to make this into a big production number, aren't you?" she asked with a sigh and sat back in her chair in resignation.

"You bet I am." He flipped the shirt over and folded it so that only the number showed. "I picked twelve for your number since it was your birthday."

"That was thoughtful of you, Derek. Can I have my shirt now?"

"Not yet. We haven't gotten to the piece de resistance yet," he lightly scolded her.

Emily sighed and rested her chin in the palm of one hand. "I got a feeling I'm not going to like this, but do go on," she said with a wave of her other hand.

"Thank you for not spoiling my fun. Everyone on the team gets a nickname based on his or her play," he explained.

"I'm definitely not going to like this," she muttered under her breath. Derek was known for his out there nicknames.

Derek leaned back in his chair, eyes dancing mischievously. "At first I thought 'Twinkle Toes' because you are so nimble out in the field."

"Oh, god!" Emily groaned, trying to picture herself wearing a shirt with that on the back. She shuddered.

"But that didn't feel right," he continued gleefully, ignoring the pained expression on her face. "Then I thought of 'Miss Sweet Thang' for your two sweet catches."

"That one is even worse than the first."

"Then I went nah because I knew you would rip me a new one if I ever called you or let anyone call you that in public."

"Damn right I would!" Emily vowed.

"So I came up with this instead." Derek proudly held up the shirt so she could see her official softball nickname.

Emily leaned forward and squinted at the words. "Triple Threat?" she asked and looked at him in confusion.

"Uh huh," he agreed with a delighted nod. "You're a triple threat. You can hit balls out of the park, play the field like a pro and you have one hell of an arm. You like?"

This time he didn't stop Emily from taking the shirt. She ran her fingers over the gray lettering. "I do," she responded with a smile. "Thank you. I will wear in proudly."

"That works for me."

As Emily stood up to head back to the bullpen and her desk, she pointed a warning finger at Derek. "I don't want to hear you calling me Triple Threat outside of softball. If I do, expect a line drive coming your way at batting practice. And I won't be aiming for your head."

Derek shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "You have my word," he swore, holding up a hand, "that your nickname will never pass my lips except on the ball field. Scouts honor."

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Were you even a Boy Scout?" she asked dubiously.

"Yes, I was," he answered, looking affronted. "I looked damn handsome in my shorts, long socks, badge sash and neckerchief."

* * *

The team arrived back in DC in plenty of time for Derek and Emily to make Sunday's game against the U.S. Marshals. Within the dugout the player's confidence levels were at an all time high. The Marshals were another team they rarely bet, but with Emily on their side, there was a good chance that they could come out on top and have a two game winning streak, the first one in two years. Normally they excelled at losing streaks.

Emily and Derek were warming up by tossing the softball back and forth when he suddenly grinned and waved. Emily turned around to see the rest of the team with various significant others and children piling into the bleachers.

Feeling extremely self-conscious she hissed, "What are they doing here? Did you invite them?"

He frowned in confusion. "No. JJ or Reid probably mentioned it to Garcia and she told everyone she knew. What's the big deal?"

She dug her toe of her shoe in the dirt. "I just never had people in the stands I knew were there for me."

His confusion deepened. "I don't get it."

Emily blew out a breath of frustration. How could she explain it to Derek in a way he would understand? "People in the audience were always other people's families, not mine. I would show up and do my thing while my parents were off doing theirs. I never had someone show up specifically to see me."

Seeing her embarrassed look, Derek trotted over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't do that. Maybe you never had that as a kid, but you do now." He pointed to the team. "They are our family and they're here for us."

"Great," she said, her self-consciousness growing stronger.

He squeezed her shoulder. "It is great. You know why?" She shook her head. "We have people who care enough to show up. It doesn't matter if we whoop their asses or they whoop ours. They're here to cheer us on, and maybe rib us a little if we stink to high heaven." He grinned. "But that's what a real family does. And we'll make them pick up the bar tab if they do."

"They better," Emily agreed with a snort.

"Alright, so you good? No need to be nervous."

"Yeah. I'm good."

"Okay, Twinkle Toes, let's get out there and do this."

"I thought I told you never to call me that," she warned, shooting him a glare.

Derek held his glove over his heart with an innocent look. "I don't know what you are talking about. I called you Triple Threat."

Emily refrained from rolling her eyes and swatted his hand off her shoulder. "Whatever you say, Morgan."

He chuckled as he watched her trot out to center field. He knew his friend would be all right once she got involved in the game and forgot all about being watched.

This week the Bureau was the home team so they got to bat second. The Marshals managed to get their first batter on base, but the next three struck out ending the top of the inning. Again Emily was batting fifth and stood at the far end of the dugout, bat in hand in case she actually got a chance to bat in the first, intently watching how the pitcher tossed the ball. The first two batter easily reached base. The third was out because of the infield fly rule and the fourth walked. When Emily settled into the left-handed batter's box for her at bat, the bases were loaded. She took the first two for strikes then swung at the third.

CRACK!

Silence descended over the ball field and the bleachers as everyone watched the path of the softball as it soared through the air. A roar went up when it landed ten feet beyond the home run fence.

GRAND SLAM!

Emily kept her eyes modestly on the ground as she trotted around the bases to the chants of 'Triple Threat' from her teammates. As she neared third base she risked a glance at the bleachers. Her friends, her family was on their feet clapping and shouting. Jack and Henry were jumping up and in their excitement. Her face split into a grin. They were cheering for her like Derek had said they would and it felt wonderful. Still riding the high when she touched home, she exchanged exuberant high fives with the three guys she had driven in then adjourned to the dugout for more congratulatory back slaps and fist bumps.

The game ended up being a rout with the Bureau winning by a score of twelve to zero. But Emily didn't remember the game or her grand slam. What she did remember and cherish was the team standing in the bleachers cheering her and Derek on and the celebratory meal of greasy hamburgers at a kid friendly restaurant with them. She had a family of caring and unique people and that was all that mattered to her.

* * *

_I hope all enjoyed it. I had fun writing it especially the scene when Emily was up to bat because that happened to me in a game. As of right now I'm pretty sure there won't be another chapter and it will remain a two shot. _


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